


Sparring Session.

by biblio_witch



Series: On My Whole Heart. [Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.] [1]
Category: PPZ, Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) RPF, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fighting, PPZ - Freeform, Romance, Violence, Zombies, otp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-20 22:35:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6027877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biblio_witch/pseuds/biblio_witch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An early morning sparring session leads Darcy to question a few aspects of his relationship with Elizabeth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sparring Session.

The thud of fists on flesh filled the morning air, and the grunt of pain that followed sent sparrows shrieking from a nearby oak tree and up into the sullen grey sky. 

Darcy reeled back from the force of her blow, and Elizabeth lunged in close, lashing out with a series of strikes, using only her palms and not her fists so as not to damage her knuckles. Darcy blocked the blows, knocking aside her wrists and returning with a blow to her ribs that knocked the breath from her lungs. 

She feinted left and twisted to the right in the last moment, silk skirts flowing around her ankles. He caught the move though, reflexes lightening fast as he grabbed her wrist, twisted her sharply around, and clamped her back against his chest.

Elizabeth grunted, her ribs aching as his powerful arms squeezed tight around her chest, pinning her arms in place effectively. She struggled in vain. 

"Are you tiring, Miss Bennett?" There was amusement in the panted words, though there was nothing mocking about it. If there was one thing that Elizabeth knew for certain to be true, it was Darcy's deep and absolute respect for her. 

She merely replied with a stomp to his instep, and he let out a sharp 'Ouch!'. 

"If I am, Mr Darcy," She said breathlessly, wriggling around in his grip with all her might, "It is only because I am the more skilled fighter. Such skill burns through energy quite quickly, don't you know." 

"I have heard such things," He replied with a light laugh, not allowing her to move an inch. "Of course, that isn't the case. My being the more skilled fighter means you have to work much harder to defeat me, which is what I suspect has tired you." 

"You great arrogant oaf." She grunted viciously, stomping with her feet, but he'd learned his lesson. Darcy laughed, and despite Elizabeth's growing irritation, the sound melted her insides. It was not a sound given lightly, but she'd heard it more and more often of late. Because it was so rare, she cherished every single time she managed to coax it from him. It brought an automatic smile to her lips. Especially now, when she felt the echo of it in his chest, pressed tight to her back. She felt it shudder through her own spine. 

"Lizzie!" Came a call, cheerful in nature. 

"Darcy?" Came another, deeper, but with the same hint of joy in it. 

Bingley and Jane came into view, stepping around a wide oak and into the small grove that managed to provide cover from most of the prying eyes of Rosewood. 

"Oh my," Jane blinked. 

Elizabeth admitted, it could be considered a compromising position, especially with their sweat slicked skin and rouged cheeks, with Darcy in nothing but his loose white undershirt and black breeches and her in a cream petticoat and plain tan bodice, with no arms and a low neckline. Neither of them were wearing shoes. 

Unsure of what to do, and panicked by the shock in her sister and future brother-in-law, Elizabeth did the only thing she thought might break the tension. 

Taking advantage of his distraction, Elizabeth grabbed one of Darcy's wrists and twisted it sharply to one side, which broke his hold on her. With that, she grabbed his arm, threw her torso forward and yanked on his limb, and felt as his body tumbled over her back and landed in a heap in the grass. Elizabeth twisted smoothly, perching beside him with one knee on his sternum and her forearm against his throat. 

"Do you surrender, Mr Darcy?" She murmured, her breath still heavy. She could feel her hair sticking to the nape of her neck. 

Darcy was staring up at her, a soft smile on his lips, cheeks flushed pink, and dark eyes intense with some unknown emotion that Elizabeth was too frightened to name. It might have been love, but she'd come to realise that there was love in his eyes every single time he looked at her. No, this was heavier, deeper, something that snatched her breath right from her throat and caused her eyelids to flutter. 

"To you, Elizabeth, always. " Came his whispered reply, and his hand was on her waist, fitting to the curve of her body, and his fingers were burning her skin even through the layers of her petticoat. Her head dipped, lips parting, and his chin tilted back, inviting her in immediately, their eyes locked together- 

"I highly doubt that this is how to treat one's fiance, Lizzie." 

Jane's voice brought Elizabeth back to the world with a jolting thud, and she immediately rolled from Darcy and up onto her feet in one swift motion. She reached down and offered her hands, and he took them and allowed her to aid him to his feet. Their eyes met for a mere moment, his dark with anticipation and mouth set in a distinctly disappointed line. He cast a foul look towards the oncoming pair. 

"Well, when _your_ fiance is as horrid as mine, sometimes it's necessary to challenge him to a vicious duel." 

Darcy smirked as he turned aside to retrieve his waistcoat, leather boots and his samurai, which accompanied him everywhere. 

Jane and Bingley laughed simultaneously as Elizabeth turned to fetch her own shoes, sitting on the ground to pull on the tan boots.

"You keep him humbled, Elizabeth." Bingley smiled fondly at her.

"I try," She grumbled, "A constant struggle, I'm afraid." 

"Though she seems to keep a tight restraint on her arrogance," Darcy replied, arching a dark eyebrow. He offered his hand and pulled her to her feet, "How ever do you do it?" 

She snorted, quite unladylike. "I don't need to restrain it, every ounce of it is deserved." 

"Of course," He chuckled, giving her a smile that made her breathing shallow. 

Jane giggled, but reached out to squeeze her sisters' hand. "Quickly now, Liz. You'll need to bathe before breakfast, and mother will drop dead of mortification if the both of you do not attend." 

Agreeing, the four of them said goodbye to one another, and the happy couple walked off, perfectly content. Elizabeth stared after them, eyebrows scrunched on her forehead. 

"Do you wish I were more like Bingley?" Darcy's question was sudden, blurted out of no where. It seemed to surprise even him. Elizabeth turned a scathing stare his way. He wavered for a moment, but continued with grim determination. "Would you like me to court you properly? Write you a note to invite you to go walking, or have afternoon tea? For me to touch nothing but your hands, or shower you with gifts and flattery?"

Clearly, this had been a great source of anxiety for him. Though he did not often willingly show any emotion, she could tell easily in the roughness of the question, and the way he avoided her eyes. 

Elizabeth observed that herself and Darcy could not be further from Jane and Bingley, they really were the perfect couple. Both handsome beyond compare, with kind and gentle natures that fit perfectly together. Though Jane was an excellent warrior and Bingley quite the battle strategist, Elizabeth knew in her heart that the two would retire to lives of peace. 

The difference was significant, and she knew that this is why her mother had been so horrifically worried about her future.

When Jane stood beside her fiance she was poised and elegant, as lovely as the dawn, Bingley stood beside her proud and just as dignified. Their joy was tangible, simply happy to be in the other's presence. They were pristine, the very embodiment of what high society should be. Refined, retrained, radiant. 

Then there was her and Darcy, brawling in the mud, barely dressed, tangled up together. Violence was buried deep in their bones, a wildness running through their veins that would not be tamed nor tampered with. He was sullen and she irritable, and they both had little respect nor time for social etiquette. Really, they were perfect for each other too, in a... Rougher, sort of way. 

"Do you wish I were more like Jane?" 

He blinked as he looked back at her, and then grimaced. "No." 

"Would you like me to giggle at everything you say? To blush brightly at every brush of our hands? To sit and embroider in silence with you? To shy away from you for fear of compromising my modesty?" 

Darcy sighed, eyebrows drawn together in a heavy frown. She knew what his answer would be, but there was no doubt that he was still troubled. Why, she couldn't fathom. 

"No, to all of those situations." He gave her a small smile, "It all sounds ghastly." 

"Well, then." She gave an offhand shrug and turned to stride back to Rosewood and the bath that awaited her, but Darcy caught up and gripped her shoulders, turning her fully to stare into her eyes. 

"I can't help but think that I'm going about this all wrong. Bingley is so good at it, and in comparison to him I must look like a shambling mess." 

Elizabeth couldn't help but roll her eyes, because on the contrary, Darcy often caused her to be a shambling mess. Just a look from him could make her heart quicken and her mouth dry. 

"You're doing what comes natural to you." She assured him, resting her hands on his forearms and trying her best to smile in a way that would convey her support.

"And what comes natural to me is to sneak you outside before dawn so I might physically fight you in the dirt." He drew away from her and scrubbed a hand through his hair, staring hard at the ground.

"You say that as if you snatched me from my bed," Elizabeth scoffed, scornful. "I was excited when you knocked on my door, and I rushed as eagerly as you did out of Rosewood's doors." 

"So now I have 'bad influence' to add to the long list of my wrongdoings." He snorted, but there was no humour in it. There was real, undiluted fear in his eyes and his hands were clenched tight into fists. His gaze stayed firmly on the floor. 

Elizabeth, finally becoming irritated with his attempts at ruining her good morning, swept forward to wrap her arms around his neck and rest her cheek against his shoulder. Though he sighed and tried to pry her from him, eventually he gave up and accepted her embrace, even deigning to wrap his arms around her waist. She held him like that for a long while, squeezing tight with her arms and nestling deep into his chest. He was such a solid presence, like there was nothing on Earth that could move him if he didn't want it. Though she worried that one day their shared love of battle would separate them, it was moments like this where she convinced herself that Darcy was too stubborn and too strong to be taken from her side.

She drew back and clasped his cheeks in her hands, staring at him with determination strong enough to set stones on fire. He gazed back, looking a little lost and desperately in need of direction. 

"If you were more like Bingley, I would not have fallen in love with you." Her voice was firm, with no room for complaint. "I fell in love with you because of your stubbornness, your recklessness and your strength. You are kind and respectful, proud and honest. You aren't perfect," She smiled, smoothed her thumb over his cheekbone, "And neither am I, but we are perfect for each other." 

"You swear it?" He murmured, leaning down to press his forehead to hers. His breath seemed to come easier than it had a moment ago. 

"On my whole heart." 

"And you don't mind?" Darcy's eyes were closed, but the tight grip of his hands on her waist conveyed just how much he needed her in that moment. "You won't grow tired of me and my ways?" 

"Oh, I can't promise that." She snorted, rolling up onto her toes to press a kiss to his forehead. "But though I might grow to hate you more, I'll never love you less." 

He laughed, tipping his head back as the sound burst forth from his lips. When he looked back at her again, he was smiling a light, carefree smile that told her the storm of his worries had passed. His eyes softened, a smile blooming onto his face like the dawn of the sun after a stormy night. His dark stare was heavy with emotion, his arms tight around her waist, and Elizabeth was momentarily shocked into silence at how utterly beautiful he was. 

With her heart in her throat she tilted her chin upwards, inviting him in.

Darcy leaned forward immediately, lips firm and sure as they pressed tight to hers. He was an excellent kisser, and she wondered where he'd gotten the practice from. Their lips moved swiftly, relentlessly. Her hands were on his cheeks, her breath coming quick from her lungs, her stomach fluttering. Elizabeth's fingers slipped into his thick hair, and she struggled to press herself more firmly against his solid chest. 

Darcy pulled away with a jerk, and she was smug to find his cheeks tinted red and his breathing just as shallow.

"I may be an awful influence," He murmured, forehead falling against hers again. "But even I'm aware that continuing down that path is a bad idea."

Elizabeth sighed, unwilling to let him go but resigning to at the very least restrain herself.

"Our wedding is not far off." The implication behind the words was obvious, especially as his arms tightened around her waist. 

Elizabeth's lips parted as her stomach did a strange, excited little flip. 

"It can't come quick enough." 

**Author's Note:**

> My first go at a PPZ fic, I know my writing isn't as flowery as Jane Austen's and even attempting to write with all those big words and old expressions was making my head hurt, so I stuck with writing in my own style, hope you like it anyway!  
> If you have any requests for PPZ fics then you can find me on tumblr at 'bibliowitch', just drop me an ask and I'll be happy to reply.  
> Thanks lovelies for reading!!


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